"The Substance" Spoilers Review, Best Movie Theater Experiences, "The Brutalist," "A Real Pain"

On this week's episode: A spoiler filled review of "The Substance." James and Kyle also share their best movie theater experiences, remembering iconic director David Lynch, Conan O'Brien to receive the Mark Twain Prize Award, and non-spoiler reviews of "The Brutalist" and "A Real Pain."

New England's film industry is booming with multiple projects constantly under production. Projects include commercials, television shows and full-length feature films. Jamie and James are hosts of The Hub on Hollywood, an iHeartRadio podcast. 

The Hub on Hollywood discusses New England's growing film industry, as well as entertainment news and reviews. SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM & TikTok! Listen to new episodes of The Hub on Hollywood podcast on the iHeartRadio app!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is the Hub on Hollywood and iHeartRadio Podcast. I'm
your co host James Rojas, and this is our guest
co host Kyle Bray. Welcome to the Hub on Hollywood Podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Awesome. I'm so excited to be here.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Thanks for having me, Yeah, filling it for Jamie who
is out on assignments. We say, but I know, thank
you so much. I know you are a big movie fan,
a big movie buff, so this is gonna be fun.
On this week's episode, we're talking about We're giving a big, full,
in depth spoiler review of The Substance, the new Demi

(00:42):
Moore film that is just making everybody's skin crawl in
the best possible way. I think it's one of the
best movies that came out. I think in twenty twenty four.
We both just watched it, so it's still like ingrained
in our minds. I feel it's.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Very fresh and it's it's staying there.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
Yeah. Russell talking about The Brutal List with Adrian Brody,
he just won a Golden Globe before his performance in
that movie. That looks fantastic and also a real pain
with Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Colkin. I always want to
say with Koli Coulchin. Yeah, he's the other Colt. The
other one is he is he in Severance, but he's

(01:22):
he's going to be in Fallout? Is he?

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Yeah? The only reason I know that is because earlier
this year I went to they had a home alone
screening with a Q and A from him after and
he was talking about how the next day he literally
had to fly out to go back to wherever they're
filming Fallout to be on the set of Fallouts.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Have you seen season one? I have not season one? Okay,
have you played the game?

Speaker 2 (01:41):
I don't know. I've played the Fallout Shelter game on
my Nintendo Switch, but I've never played the full Fallout games.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
Oh my yeah, Fallout four. I'm actually back into playing
that right now, like after watching the first season. It's
so good. Walter Walton, Walter Goggins, who plays like one
of the ghouls, now so good. The main actress, I'm
I'm blanking on her name, but she's fantastic too. But
can't wait for season two. So that's great that he
is going to be in that one. We're also talking

(02:07):
about a local Brookline, Massachusetts native who's getting the acclaim
and praise that you know he often gets it, but
he's getting this really one that's really high honor. Also
talking about our favorite movie experiences, movie theater experiences, because
I know we on the show. You may have listened
or heard that Jamie and I talked about many of
our movie theater nightmares of people talking and just keeople

(02:30):
acting crazy. But we have actual great moments in movie
theater going experiences that we're going to be talking about
as well. But first, let's talk about breaking news that
happened this week. An iconic director in film and not
only a film but also music videos too, David Lynch.
He passed away this past week. I believe at seventy

(02:51):
eight years old. Yeah, it was something like that really early, Yeah,
seventy eight, and I guess he may have been over
the past year dealing with like this battle with I
think his family said that he was battling, so I
think with his lungs. I forget what disease it was.
But everyone knows who David Lynch is. Not everybody has
seen many of his movies, but I think if you
just know like his how people would describe his movies

(03:13):
seemed very like dream like, chaotic, sometimes.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
I mean, he's a guy whose existence became an adjective.
I mean, like you hear people describe things as Lynchian,
you know, and there's there's not many directors or artists
that can say that that they've done, that, that they've achieved,
that they've had such an impact that people can associate something.
Looking at it's like, oh, that's them, that's their name,
you know.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
Now I've seen so growing up, I've heard about his
films but never really got to dive into them or
realize that he was the one who directed them. But
when my wife, we were just dating at the time,
she mentioned that, oh, she loves a Moholand drive just
because of how like artistic it is and everything like okay,
and because I liked her, I was like, I'm gonna
watch this movie immediately. So I went home watched it

(03:57):
that night, like rented it. And while I was watching it,
I felt my brain melting because I had no idea
what was happening. Characters were switching in and out and
changing characters and faces and actors. And the next morning
I watched it again because I was like, maybe I
was just too sleepy and I have no idea what
I experienced. So I started watching it again and the
same thing. I'm like, I'm like, this is wild to

(04:19):
take in. But that's like again the David Lynch kind
of vibe that many of his movies people how they
interpret it. Have you heard of The Elephant Man?

Speaker 2 (04:29):
I've not.

Speaker 1 (04:29):
That's one of my favorite David Lynch movies that I
didn't realize it was directed by him, But that one
is a one is a tear jerker. Dune, oh yeah,
before he directed Dune the og and One, which I
don't think holds up that well.

Speaker 2 (04:42):
It's very different compared to the new ones that have
come out. It's certainly it's certainly of its time. But
you know, you got to give him credit for taking
on something like Dune.

Speaker 1 (04:51):
Yeah, yeah, because I think I've never read the books,
but I heard like, if you can put like half
of what is in the book onto a screen, you've succeeded,
just because of how crazy the book is. But you
know the way, we have directors who are speaking out,
Steven Spielberg saying that he's a singler, visionary dreamer, Ron
Howard calling the fearless artists who followed his heart and

(05:13):
soul and James Gunn saying rest and peace, David Lynch,
you inspired so many of us. David Lynch again, passing
away at seventy eight. So I think a lot of
people are going to be going on a David Lynch
bender binge thon.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
Oh yeah, I've already seen it on my letterboxed. All
my friends have been just like rewatching and reviewing all
of his stuff. Again. It's it's definitely a good time
for I think for myself to go into a deep
dive and you know, really really get that that brain
melting experience that he's so known for.

Speaker 1 (05:39):
And his movies. Again, again, he's a director of a
different time, but his movies are like, you can't have
your phone out, you can't have your laptop out, you
can't have distractions because you need to pay attention to
the to the story because it can take left turns
like so so wildly. While at Heart is another movie,
and my wife and I watched which with Nick Cage.
It's just is chaotic. It just so David Lynch and

(06:03):
a genius.

Speaker 2 (06:04):
David Lynch and Nick Cage together sounds sounds like a trip,
Yeah for sure.

Speaker 1 (06:07):
Yeah, yeah, do not take edibles or acid while while
watching a David Lynch film. Let's move on to John Hamm.
John Hamm famously of mad Men. He was in Baby
Driver and so many more movies, the what was it
The Town with Ben Affleck, he was the FBI.

Speaker 2 (06:23):
Oh yeah, and he was in Top Gun Maverick. Yes,
he was. He's one of that. I think that's the
most recent thing I've seen him was he was one
of the the superiors that's trying to rain in Maverick.

Speaker 1 (06:33):
You can't do it.

Speaker 2 (06:34):
You can't do it.

Speaker 1 (06:35):
That's fun. I forgot he was in there just because
you have like again Tom Cruise, you have Glenn Powell,
you have so many other uh what's his name? What
flash guy Miles, Miles, Miles, Teller, Teller, Teller. I always
think about Penn and Teller, But yeah, you have so
many other high list actors in there, or a list
actors that you forget that John Ham's in there, not
that he didn't do a good job, but as the
classic but so much in that film. But he is

(06:56):
going to be in Cambridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the
end of this month because he has been named the
twenty twenty five Man of the Year. Hasty Pudding's Man.

Speaker 2 (07:07):
Of the Year.

Speaker 1 (07:08):
Oh yeah, we know what the Hasty Pudding thing is.
It's like over a century a long.

Speaker 2 (07:13):
Yeah, so, I think it's the oldest theatrical organization in
the country. It's out of Harvard, and you know, they
picked someone every year. Last year it was a Barry
Keyogan and Annette Benning where the Hasty Pudding Man and
Woman of the Year. I don't think they've announced the
Woman of the Year yet, and I don't think they've
havn us a date yet either, but it's always exciting
to do that. You know, they have the big parade

(07:33):
down Harvard Square, and they have the annual roast, which
is I'm sure always is a great time. It will
be fun to see what they talk about for him.

Speaker 1 (07:40):
Did you see the Barry Keyogan kind of theatrical play
they did because he had just done Saltburn? You say Saltburn?

Speaker 2 (07:47):
Oh yeah, well you want to talk about great theater experiences.
I will definitely be mentioning that movie long.

Speaker 1 (07:53):
I watched that one at home and I was by
myself and my jaw was dropped during that scene. If
you know, you know, well, yeah, it's so a good boy,
do I have a good story, so they recreated I
don't even hear that. So they recreated that scene in
a more PG kind of way for the Hasty Puddings
theatrical experience. But yeah, Jon Hamm, if you are a
big fan, be on the lookout in the Cambridge area

(08:14):
around January thirty, first of that at the end of
the month, because he should be in town and roaming
around in all his his greatness. Speaking of greatness, one
of my favorite comedians of all time, one of my favorite,
my favorite talk show hosts of all time. No one
else comes close. Conan O'Brien. Oh yeah, Massachusetts native, Brookline native.

(08:36):
He is being awarded one of the highest honors for
any entertainer. Has been announced that he's gonna be receiving
the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Airing or The
ceremony will be live on Netflix. How does Conan rank
in your kind of like TV host?

Speaker 2 (08:53):
I mean, I would have to agree with you, Like,
he's up there as one of my favorites. Like his
new podcast that he has now is great, and you
know he's he's so funny, but he's also a really
good guy. I know that during the pandemic when you
know all the talk shows, and I'm sure I know
a lot of other people did it, but I know
he was very early on and being like, I'm gonna
help pay and cover all my writers' salaries and stuff
like that. I believe when there was a strike a

(09:14):
while ago, he did the same. And he's just you know,
he's he's really funny. He's a good guy, and it's
always good to see people from from the area succeeding.

Speaker 1 (09:22):
I love. Like, so I'm emergentally from as you know,
I'm from California. And when it was announced that he
was taking over the Tonight Show like ten plus years ago,
it's been so long, so I was so excited because like, oh,
he's going to be in Los Angeles and I'm from here.
I'm gonna love to go see a show. And so,
not to make a long story longer, but one of
my high school friends, his father used to work in

(09:43):
Universal Studios Hollywood, and like as a producer, like like
a high executive, like very fancy. I reached out to
him and said, Hey, me and my then girlfriend want
to go to the show. Can we get tickets or
whatever or like to like just asking for like some
kind of hookup. We get these wristbands, so pretty much
we had free range of the entire Universal Studios, like backlot.

Speaker 2 (10:04):
It's crazy.

Speaker 1 (10:05):
So we were walking around all day before the show
and we're walking around and at the end of you know,
we watched the show and at the end, you know,
they all kind of huddle you into the shuttle again
and they drive you back to the parking lot. But
we're like, hey, we got these wrisk bands. Can we
just leave. They're like they're looking the people, the staff,
and they're like, uh, yeah, sure, So we just walked
can We just kept walking around and trying to hope
to run into Conan. And when they announced that the

(10:29):
show is being taken away from him, there was a
huge rally in Los Angeles outside the studios. My friend
Kyle and I Kyle Rhodes. We went over there and
it was pouring rain like it had never rained so
hard in Los Angeles in the past, like twenty years.
It was pouring, but you had all these people, hundreds
of people going out there to support them, and we

(10:50):
went out there in the rain. We were among the
first people to show up. The people who worked for
Conan I'm like, this's a very long story. I'm sorry.
The people who worked for Conan, they actually brought us
out Conan like like this night show with Conan O'Brien
hats because they saw that we were out there very
early and so like oh, hey, thanks for coming out,
and they gave us hats. And then eventually we got
a sign from my people were passing out like go

(11:11):
go Coco, kind of going back to the to the
show at the Universe Studios. I actually actually brought that sign.
After the show. We went to this to his office
like and like, hey, we're big fans of Conan. Do
you think he could sign this, Like, oh, he's not
here right now, but write your address on the back
of the board and we'll we'll see if we could
sign it and send it to you, like okay. Long shot.

(11:32):
A few weeks later, that comes back in the mail
and has Conan O'Brien. He goes because it was a
cat with a Conan wig like a hat. It was
a weird, funny picture. But he goes like, this is
the most disturbing thing I've ever seen. Conan O'Brien and
I had that still at home, so yeah, that's great,
So this award is priced to not go to a
better person. I know, he just lost his parents. He

(11:55):
was back over here for that brutal Yeah, very tough
year for Conan, but very happy that he's being appreciated
and recognized, gets a good win. Yeah, speak about good wins.
Let's talk about our own personal wins, our movie theater
experience wins. As I mentioned, I've been through many horror
stories where people are talking. One I'm a biker. Not
sure if you know this, but a biker. We're watching

(12:16):
Guardians with Galaxy too, me and my friend, and he
was singing every because you know, like there's songs in
this in this movie is very popular songs. He's singing
every song that's popping up, and like midway through, I'm
not enjoying this because he's having his own party over here,
and I go, like, I whisper, hey, you're being a

(12:37):
little loud. Can you turn it down? And like he
blows up and like threatened to find me in the
movie theater and afterwards, and so anyway, we have those
horror stories, but we have much better experiences in the
movie theater. Did you have one at the top of
your head that you remember.

Speaker 2 (12:52):
Yeah, I mean my favorite movie theater experience like I've
ever had was at the Coolidge I want to say
in twenty twenty one. They every year they do this
Lord of the Rings movie marathon where they show all
three back to back to back and with like a
thirty minute break and then an hour break and it's
the extended edition, so you're there for like we showed
up at i want to say, eleven in the morning

(13:13):
and left after midnight. Yeah, one of the coolest experiences
I've ever had, because you know, I never got the
chance to see those in a theater as a kid,
and to a get to see them in a theater
was so special. And to see it at the cool
which was really special too, but to see it with
everyone who's so dedicated and loves that franchise, Like all
the highs hit so much higher when everyone's there, and
all the lows hit you so much harder when everyone

(13:35):
else is there. And just like the atmosphere, I know,
the Mark Innistasio, the guy who's the in charge of
their their special programming there, he showed up Justice Gandolf
and it was it was such a great time. It
was really one of the one of the coolest movie
theater experiences.

Speaker 1 (13:48):
I've ever had a shout out to Mark. We've actually
had Mark on the podcast and we've had numerous times
on it for WBZ News Radio and great guy. I
love the shout out to the coolest Corner theater too,
because they're always doing I say gimmicks in the best
possible way, but they're always doing gimmicks to make each
theater going experience an events. Yeah. Most recently they had

(14:09):
the Tingler and so they actually installed like those vibrating
like motors below the seats and so and when the
movie came out, it was like in nineteen forties or
fifties or sixties movie. I forget, it's the first fort
D movie. Yeah, yeah, I was like one of the
first four D like experience. And so back then they
actually had like motors too, and so they brought back
that vintage theatrical experience. And so shout out to the

(14:32):
Coolidge for doing stuff like that, because I think more
people nowadays need an excuse, need an event to go
see movie theater. They go to movie theater to watch
a movie.

Speaker 2 (14:42):
Yeah, and I love how I love just like repertory stuff.
I mean one of my other favorite experiences I had
this year was I saw interest. I guess last year
I saw Interstellar for the first time. I'd never seen it,
and partially it was because I wanted to see it
in a feater and it got I'm actually released, and
I went with my friend and it was one of
the coolest experiences of ever had just to be around
just like a movie that was so made for IMAX

(15:02):
and just like you know, your sheet, your your your
seed is shaking and you know you can feel the
sound it was, it was, it was, it was amazing.

Speaker 1 (15:10):
That's cool. I Actually I regret because my head have
another friend from high school who watched big, big Lord
of the Rings fan, and you know, he watched I didn't.
I wasn't into Wizards at the time or like you
know that kind of realm of middle you know, and
so I watched it after the fact, like on DVD,
and yeah, they're great movies. So that's one regret I
have not watching it in the movie theater. So yeah,

(15:32):
that's awesome that you get to experience and a whole
like kind of day events. One memory of mine, one
of my favorite movie experiences in my life was with
my dad, have you seen the movie or heard the
movie Kung Paw Enter the Fist?

Speaker 2 (15:46):
I have not, no.

Speaker 1 (15:47):
So basically, this guy he took an old, old like
Kunk Kung Fu martial arts movie from like the seventies,
and it's all in like Amandarin, and he overdubbed it
and spliced it and like put himself in the movie
and like created extra scenes and pretty much like you
know how dubs are where, like the mouth is moving

(16:08):
but the language but the words catch up differently. The
whole movie is like that. Even his like this white
guy who's like this martial arts like the Chosen One.
He's speaking English, but his mouth is just all gibberish anyway.
So it's a very like slapsticky, ridiculous movie and it's
so stupid, but it's so good. Has a cult following.
But my dad and I watched that in movie theater.

(16:29):
Came out in two thousand and two, so I was twelve,
and my dad and I were busting up laughing, like
one of the earliest movies. I remember just like not
being able to catch my breath and just like side
hurting and being there with my dad who's having just
as much fun. Like, that's a core memory and one
reason why I can't wait to go to the movie
theaters with my daughter. She's old enough, just like you

(16:51):
just can't recreate those moments with family or friends. So
that's one best movie experience theaters or theater experiences I
have had in my life.

Speaker 2 (16:59):
Yeah, I was thinking, well, you to harken it back
to to Sulburn. I was gonna say that was one
of the most that was. It was good because it
was just so bizarre, like seeing that movie and just
like what it is, it's just crazy. But the audience
when I saw it. I saw it at the AMC
on Boston Common, and the audience was so into it
and like that that scene, Yeah, like the whole the

(17:21):
whole crowd is like oh oh oh, you know, everyone's
just like like everyone kind of knew what was happening,
everyone was about to happen, and just like the reaction
to just anytime something absurd was happening, Like it was
one of those classic theater theater experiences were just like
the crowd was so into it. Everyone was reacting like
oh my god, like people were just yelling that out
and it was one of them. I was like sh
cause like I was feeling the same thing too. I'm like,

(17:43):
what am I watching right now? You know?

Speaker 1 (17:44):
I said, did you know going in that there was
a scene like that?

Speaker 2 (17:47):
Because yes, I did not know when it was going
to happen, and I knew there were a couple of
things that I knew were going to happen and I
did not know when. Yeah, and then when like they
were about to happen, I was like, oh my god,
it's just said and.

Speaker 1 (17:59):
I was like, well, here we go, there we go,
this is happening. And the thing is, I I had
heard there was a scene with bathtub. That's all I
knew going in, and I watched it at home and yeah,
literally like mouth a gape, Like for a while, I'm like, Oh,
it's like I don't know what that feeling is, just
like inside of you, it's just trying to burst and

(18:19):
like you just can't believe what you're watching. But such
an iconic scene. That's definitely something that I probably should
have experienced a movie theater too, just watch other people.

Speaker 2 (18:28):
One of my favorite reviews I saw of that movie
was someone said that, like this movie was written so
that Emerald Fanell could say for her next movie from
The Twisted Mind if Everything, because let me tell you
that movie was twisted.

Speaker 1 (18:41):
That's crazy, that's yeah, that was a nuts nuts movie.
Have you seen The Talented Miss Ripley?

Speaker 2 (18:47):
I watched the TV show that just came out with
Andrew Scott, which is Yeah, it's like it's essentially the
same thing. It's all in this it's in this beautiful
black and white on Netflix. And Andrew Scott is great. Yeah,
but I do know they're very It's like basically the
same thing.

Speaker 1 (19:01):
Yeah, So that's what I compared it to, Like it's
like it's like a talented mister Ripley me. It's like,
I don't know what other discussing movie you can combine
it with, but Matt Damon Jude Law are fantastic in that.
So that that's what reminded me of that, because he's
you know, impersonating or like mimicking other people to fit
in and then eventually like kind of take advantage of
the situation. Another movie that I remember having a great

(19:22):
time in high school was Super Bad. Oh yeah, in
two thousand and seven, I saw the midnight screening it
was it just came out, So it was like Thursday
at midnight, my friends in high school. We all go
and that I remember. That's another movie where like the
whole theater was erupting like every five seconds, ten seconds.
There's a hilarious joke, and this is joke after joke

(19:44):
after joke. It's so funny. And that's a movie where
I remember, like, I've never rocked back and forth in
my in my movies in the in the theater seat before,
but I remember just like almost jumping up with laughter,
like back and forth. Everybody's having a great time, arms
are flaying, Like that's another movie that was so great
to watch. The people my age, Yeah, perfect time for myself.

(20:06):
So that that's another one that sticks out of my head.

Speaker 2 (20:08):
We need more comedies like that. Ye know. The closest
that I've had to an experience like that in the
theater was actually watching No Hard Feelings. My friends and
I went to see that at the Jennifer Lawrence movie. Yeah,
and we loved it. The problem was is the rest
of the theater was like not into it at all.
So it's just me and my two friends just like
laughing our heads off and everyone else was kind of
like looking around, like and I'm like, come on, guys,

(20:28):
get into it. You know that we need more, like
good studio comedies like that.

Speaker 1 (20:32):
That's a good one. Yeah, the beach scene was great,
way out of nowhere. It was like, Okay, this is great,
this is happening. That's fantastic.

Speaker 2 (20:39):
That's great.

Speaker 1 (20:41):
So you saw that one in theater? So that does
that make the list of best.

Speaker 2 (20:44):
You know, not not necessarily only because the rest of
the Crown wasn't. I mean, it was fun for me
and my friends, like we left, We're like that was awesome,
but like everyone else wasn't as into it. I think
the last one I'll talk about would be Parasite. When
I saw a Parasite in the theater, the only thing
that I knew about it going into it was that
it's one movie and then something happens and it's a
completely different movie, and like and I knew it was

(21:07):
supposed to be this big, scary, like like epic thriller,
and I remember watching the first half being like I'm laughing,
like this is funny, like this is this is hilarious
and then just like the moment when everything changed. I
don't want to spoil it if I know it's been
out for a while, but like watch it when the
moment when everything changes, the move the theater's mood, just
like I remember I described my friends. It was like

(21:28):
just like a snap and everything changed, Like the whole
crowd went silent for the rest of the movie and
it was just like everyone was locked in on it.
It was so cool.

Speaker 1 (21:34):
That one's funny, like all these movies and you said
you saw in theaters. I saw at home also kind
of like your same reaction, but by myself. But that's
one reason why I love movie theaters and I wish
that they succeed is that, yeah, like you can enjoy
movie just as much, maybe maybe not just as much
because it's that crowd, the communal experience of laughing, crying,
shouting that I appreciate. Again, I don't like people who

(21:56):
talk in the movies, people who sing in the movies,
and like there's time and place for example, Avengers Endgame,
any of the Avengers movies opening weekend, you're expecting people
to cheer, yeall whatever, But like there are other instances
where people are just being obnoxious and like inconsiderate with
other gaming stuff filming, and like, okay, this, like we
don't need this, but I will say, yeah, avengersmout snapping

(22:20):
snapping an instant Avengers. Endgame if anyity War was great,
but Endgame was also fantastic. That was like a roller coaster,
people like screaming and enjoying every second of it. That
was also like a great experience.

Speaker 2 (22:33):
My friends and I we went to see that the
day after it came out, like that Friday afternoon, and
there were thirteen of us. We literally filled out the
back row, and it was just like it was such
a great experience having because everyone in the row was
all into it together and in the whole theater was
But being around all my friends like that that and
like the last Jedi geting to see that the opening night.
I know, that's like kind of a controversial take, Like
not everyone likes that movie. I have a soft spot

(22:55):
for it because the first night I saw it was
so awesome. Yeah. It was like me and a bunch
of my buddies that I just met in college and
we were all we all got tickets and we all
saw it together and like we went back to our
dorm room and just like debated it for like three hours.
Like it was just such a great experience that's funny.

Speaker 1 (23:09):
Yeah, Jamie and I are are infamously at odds with
the last Jedi. Thing is the again have to go
on too many tangents, but so the Force awakens. You know.
It was a good soft rebooth, fun reintroduction into the
Star Wars universe. It wasn't great, but I enjoyed it.
It was fun for what it was. And I'm a
fan of Ryan Johnson. And going into the second one,

(23:31):
people were saying this is gonna turn you know, Star
Wars on its head. They're gonna be big changes, big swings,
and I'm like, I'm all for it. I went in
with an open mind. I remember like thirty not even
like twenty minutes in, I am not enjoying this. And
I remember thinking in my head like, oh my god,
like I'm not enjoying this. And I went in with

(23:53):
an open hearts. Yeah, with an open mind, willing to
accept big changes and big swings. But some of these
things were happening. I'm like, I am not enjoying this
at all, Like this is terrible. And it just continued
down that path and I'm like, oh, and then no
one talks about the last Skywalker, like oh god, whatever
one I was, so.

Speaker 2 (24:10):
I actually was. I I was like I went into that,
tried to go into that with an open mind, Like
halfway through, was just angry. I'm like, why am I here? Like,
oh man, like this is just not what I wanted.
And I agree. I think the last Jedi, you know,
is it hasn't aged as well as I would have hoped. So,
but like I still treasure that first night when like
everything that happened was awesome. Yeah, you know, but yeah,
I mean that's that's that's it's that's just a classic experience.

Speaker 1 (24:33):
Yeah. My last movie with my one of my most
cherished experiences in movie theater is Borat. So Borat came
out in two thousand and six, so at the time
I was sixteen, and that's another movie where like, like
the whole movie is ridiculous, over the top, you know,
gut busting laughing. But I remember specifically when the entire

(24:56):
movie theater lost its collective minds, and that was when
the naked bedfight scene and the naked fight scene and
like they're like rolling over each other and like everybody
was like gasping and like it just gasping in with
delights and like people were screaming, people were jumping when

(25:17):
and then that fight continued outside into like the lobby
and it just like that. I just remember just like
I've never been in a movie theater like this wild.
We're like all hell broke loose in the best possible way.

Speaker 2 (25:30):
That seems like the type of movie that would do that.

Speaker 1 (25:32):
Yeah, So that was like, that was great. I remember
the scene also with him when he was singing the
national anthem at the rodeo. People were just like like
like again, it's a movie theater experience that I will
never probably have again, and I hope to. But like
like we said, like they don't make movies like that
often times anymore. Yeah, I do have a problem with

(25:54):
when people say like, oh, you can't make the Tropic
thunder ever again, Like can you? It was like you
can because like people are like, oh you can't. You know,
like Robert Downey Jr. Quote War black Face, But the
character in them, it all about. It all matters about
contexts and in that context, like yeah, you can actually
do that same joke and do those who whole premise Again,
it's if the joke and the and the premise is

(26:16):
set up properly, you could run with many of these
like raunchy or like crossing the line jokes and and
have it be funny and it be like quote okay
or whatever, because you can.

Speaker 2 (26:28):
Yeah, just take the risk. And a lot of it
depends on your intent, you know, like and how are
you how are you doing it? Are you punching up?
You punching down? You know, like yeah, it's that. That's
that's like a big that's escapegoat for a lot of
like comedians in the sense of just like you know, oh,
you can't do that anymore. It's like, well, you're just
not doing it right, yeah, you know, like there are
plenty of people that do it and do it well.

Speaker 1 (26:45):
Yeah, whenever people say like you can't joke about this
that or whatever, like it's always sunny at Philadelphia is
still running. It's still a very popular show and they
do that every single week, like yes they can and
they do. But you know, people, I don't know. That's
a whole another topic. But like that's a borat and
topic thunder or movies that we need to see, like

(27:05):
our resurgence and that type of like over the top, grandiose,
stupid humor.

Speaker 2 (27:10):
We need those. Uh, what is the those mid budget comedies.
Bring those back, Yeah, bring those back. We need another
Like the other guys, I feel like was the last
one of those that I remember really coming out. That's
one of my favorites.

Speaker 1 (27:20):
That was funny. That was a good one. The first
like five minutes. It's hilarious.

Speaker 2 (27:24):
It's one of the most quoted movies in my family,
Like my mom and I will just see each other
and quote to each other all the times.

Speaker 1 (27:29):
Funny, I love it. Any other theatrical experiences, favorite ones, The.

Speaker 2 (27:34):
Last one I'll mention is when I got to see
Dune two for a second time. The first time I
saw it was just in norm was like the normal
showing of it. But the second time I saw it,
it was in IMAX, and my girlfriend and I we
were in the last row of the first of the
first like section, so we weren't like looking like you know,
we weren't like craning our necks, but the entire view
we had was just the screen and like you know,

(27:55):
being in Imax, like it's already so immersive, but like
I felt so immersed out, Like I literally at times
I wanted to get up and just be like yeah,
because it's just one of those movies where like it's
just it made me, It made me really appreciate, like
this is why we have movie theaters, This is why
we have imax, like to tell stories like this and
to give you that experience to you can like you
live and die by every moment of the movie. And

(28:17):
like just the the the maximalism and the the the
expanse of all of it all were just so we're
just so special, You're like worm, just take me people, people,
and people used to make fun of me here because
I would always be like you gotta see Dune. You
gotta seeing Like, oh my god, Kyle, I'm not gonna
go see it, Like no, you got it. You have
to see it, and you have to eat an imax.

Speaker 1 (28:35):
Did you get the Dune popcorn bucket?

Speaker 2 (28:36):
Oh my god, I wanted it so bad.

Speaker 1 (28:39):
But the funny thing is when the Essa Now did
a joke about it, I didn't know it was a
real thing. And then like they in the song, they're like,
this is a real thing, and then you google it, like,
oh my god, it is. It's a real thing.

Speaker 2 (28:49):
That's ever watching that sketch live and like when they
got to that, my friends and I all lost our
minds because it was the Iowa Debris episode. So we
were all watching it live because we love her Georchester.
You're like, oh my god, yeah, shut up A yeah,
that's so funny. Dune.

Speaker 1 (29:02):
Yeah, Dune. I can't wait for Dune three. Yeah, I don't.
I forget what they're gonna call it part three. I
guess yeah, I'm not sure.

Speaker 2 (29:08):
I know that it's like supposed to be roughly based
on the Dune Messiah, but I don't know if it's
going to be called that.

Speaker 1 (29:12):
I'm looking forward to that. That that looks so I
love that.

Speaker 2 (29:15):
Cinema again, cinema.

Speaker 1 (29:17):
Yeah, Dune, the first one came out during the pandemic.
Say to watch it like on HBO Max or something.
I just remember seeing it, but like, yeah, if you
can go watch it. About what you should go watch
and what's coming back to theaters is a movie that
we both just saw. It came out three months ago,
but we got back to it just because you know,
word of mouth is so good to me. More just
one best actress in a comedy or musical category. I

(29:41):
don't think I mean this.

Speaker 2 (29:43):
It's not a musical.

Speaker 1 (29:43):
It's not a musical for sure, you can argue whether
it's a comedy. There are comedic moments, but this is
more like a drama, like a horror drama.

Speaker 2 (29:51):
Felt very dark comedy maybe yeah.

Speaker 1 (29:53):
Yeah, we're talking about the substance. The substance. Basically, the
story is about a fading celebrity taking a black market
a cell replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better
version of herself. Things go wrong when the other half
begins to literally take more and more from the original.
As I mentioned starring to me More as Elizabeth Margaret

(30:14):
Quality as Sue, and Dennis Quaid. Dennis Quaid as Harvey,
he was fantasy. He was literally chewing up every scene,
literally chewing up every scene in this film that somebody.

Speaker 2 (30:27):
Could never eat, never eat shrimp, eat shrimp.

Speaker 1 (30:29):
Or I don't know, like that, or or smoked cigarettes
because he does not make that look advertising at all.
But this movie I've heard, and I made the mistake
of like, I watched this at home. You could rent
it right now on demand or you can buy it
on Amazon Prime. But I was home alone. I was like, okay,
let me warm up leftovers, let me sit down and

(30:51):
start eating. And I made the mistake of eating during
this film, the one the first thing that popped in
my head, like a description wise was disturbing.

Speaker 2 (31:01):
Yeah, it's grotesque, grotesque, and in a good way, I think,
like not in like you know, like, oh, you don't
watch this movie. It's grotesque. But it's like if you
if you don't have a strong stomach and you're not
really good with like blood and stuff.

Speaker 1 (31:13):
Like that, this is not the movie for you.

Speaker 2 (31:15):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (31:16):
And it starts out pretty small and and I'm a
little squeamish to needles already, Like I give blood, but
you know when they put the needle in, I have
to kind of just look away. Just go for it,
but I'll look away. So like it starts out like
with like some needle jabs. So at first it kind
of like, you know, I'm eating, and the first like
kind of like stomach, it's a little twisty, like okay,

(31:36):
but you know I can deal with that. But then
things just escalate more and more so throughout the throughout
the movie. Let's talk about we could go into like
the non spoiler ish and then we'll begin into the
deep dive of it. But basically, this is a movie
that looks at you know, the the the ugly side
of Hollywood or the entertainment industry and especially how women

(32:01):
are treated. I know the director she was saying that
she filmed this movie through the male gaze, and that
is often what you know, a lot of people used
to film movies or shows with the with the intent
of like having men being satisfied with what they looked at.
So a lot of shots with like you know, are physical,
you're looking at women's body parts and looking for that

(32:23):
eroticism and you know, trying to get catch a man's eye.
But the director intentionally used that to try to tell
the story about how hard it can be for women
in this case, you know, who are aging but are
still expected to live up to not only societal expectations,
but also because of that, like their own expectations. And

(32:45):
there's a lot of self harm messaging in this as well.

Speaker 2 (32:48):
Yeah, and how like, you know, the industry really forces
them to try to always be you know, try to
look young, and did like the whole idea where it's
like it was her fiftieth birthday and Dennis Quaid's running,
He's like, we need younger, you know, like and it's
it's and like it's probably not even that outrageous to
say that that happens like literally like people hit a

(33:09):
certain age and the you know, the big studio execs
are time to move on and get someone new, you know,
and it's it's and it is a it is really
a story like kind of in a testament to what
people like, what they what you know, women have to
deal with Indian industry and what they're expected to do,
and the lengths that some people might go to to
try to hold on to that because and it might

(33:30):
not be something they would actually want to do for themselves,
but it's what that's just what they're expected to do,
you know.

Speaker 1 (33:35):
Yeah, So basically it starts out with like literally like
a star, a star on the you know, Hollywood Walk
of Fame, and it shows like Elizabeth Sparkle, which is
to me Morris character, and it goes through like the
day that it was unveiled, you have all the paparazzi,
you have everybody taking pictures of of you know, this
is a downward shot, so you just see the top
of the heads, and then throughout them throughout the seasons

(33:58):
and years, you see how even it gets cracked. You know,
people drop food on it, and like it becomes like,
you know, time has passed. People forget about this person
or don't think of them as often or as highly.
And so dem Moore plays this actress who was big
in the heyday, but then eventually now she's like older
and she's kind of working. Her legacy is now doing

(34:18):
workout videos kind of you know popular what was popular
in the eighties. You know the are the leotards what
do you call them? Yeah, I think so spandex leotards
stuff that like was it I liked like aerobics stuff, yeah,
like in hom aerobics. Yeah, and so that's like her
legacy now. And then Dennis Quit's characters like her producer

(34:39):
of sword or the creator of the show or whatnot.
And then she goes to the restroom in the man's room,
she overhears him saying, you know, we need somebody younger,
somebody hotter, Like she's fifty, she's old. You know, she's done.
And then this is what triggers her into thinking, you know,
she's not enough, she's not worth it. She goes to
a doctor through you know, a series of event and

(35:01):
she gets offered the substance substance the substance, which is
like this miracle cure and what it will do. You
take the substance, and then you yourself, You are replicated,
like another version, a younger, better version of you is
born in a sense.

Speaker 2 (35:16):
Yeah, and it's certainly in a sense. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (35:19):
And then and then, and and so these characters, these
two separate entities who are now who are one but separate.
They each take turns on a week by week basis,
and so and then that's when things you know, started
going geting off the rails. As we mentioned before, like
grotesque disturbing. This movie is not shy about showing blood,
showing flesh in the worst possible condition, so like gashes.

Speaker 2 (35:43):
Yeah, like the whole I mean, the whole I mean,
I don't know if we're trying to get into the spoilers,
but the whole act of like how the second person
is created is like they like emerge from like a
slit in the in Memor's back. Yeah, it's like I
remember watching that, like I was, I'm not really I've
seen a lot of like body horror type movies, and
I was like, oh boy, what I could little did

(36:06):
I know what was going to come from there? But
just you know, the that scene alone was just like
it was just so bizarre, and it really does set
the tone for what you're going to see the rest
of the movie. And I kind of like the the
idea that I thought about was it was almost like
as the movie goes on, it's uh to me more
starts to become like Gollum from The Lord of the Things.
Like it's just like called like the golomification of this

(36:29):
is what this movie can be summed up.

Speaker 1 (36:31):
There's a point where she realizes that the other the
other half, is not treating her well while she is incapacitated,
and because of that, she's like she's physically being deformed
because the other one is taking too much of literally
taking too much of her, like her spinal fluid, which
is another grotesque scene that reiterates that people, what people
are willing to do, like the self harm they're willing

(36:53):
to do to themselves in order to maintain what they
think is you know, on par for what society except
and and because of this, you know, she's going through
this physical deformation and she's given the option to like,
you can stop this whenever you want, but you know
you will no longer be partaking in the highlight. You know,
your other half will not be partaking the high life

(37:14):
and being in the spotlight and being young and beautiful
and all the stuff. You can stop that, you can
stop doing this to yourself. And she chooses not to stop.

Speaker 2 (37:20):
Yeah, because then she'll also be like you can't reverse
any of the things that she's done. Like the scene
when she first has like it's just like her finger
at first, and she's like, how do we get this fixed?
And they're like, you can't get it fixed? Yeah, and
I and I like the whole time where she's like
she she and then the guy on the phone's like,
there is no she. You are one, and they really
keep saying you are one, Like what every decision you're making,

(37:41):
you are making about yourself, you know, And it's just
one of my friends. I remember she was describing it
and she was like this is like I'm sure that
the person at the substance call center was like, oh
my god. Every time she's calling again.

Speaker 1 (37:54):
Like, I'm gonna tell you the same thing, like, listen
to yourself.

Speaker 2 (37:57):
You there, your actions have consequences.

Speaker 1 (37:59):
The thing is one thing that really stuck out to
me was when she realized that that Margaret Qualities character Sue,
who's like the younger, hotter version is abusing her and
taking more of her time than than she's supposed to
speaking about Kyle, he's the one that would we went
to Conan before I'll call you back, Kyle. Oh yeah.
There's a scene where she's looking at the mirror, like

(38:22):
to me, more's characters looking at the mirror and she's
yelling at herself like, stop doing this, stop hurting yourself,
stop doing this, and like that is such a real
scene for so many people who are going through a
lot of like mental stress or trauma, where they may
look in themselves in the mirror and yell at themselves
like why are you doing this? Stop it? Whether again?

(38:42):
So again? A self harm kind of reiterating of how
like society puts so much pressure and industries puts so
much pressure on people, whether you're a man or a woman,
and it can be hard even though you realize that
you're hurting yourself.

Speaker 2 (38:55):
It can be hard to stop that and even putting
pressure on yourself, I mean, because the younger version is
literally putting so much pressure on the older person that
it's literally sucking the life out of them like the years.
And I remember the scene when she goes on the
phone and she's like she's just sitting in front of
the TV all day eating, you know. It's like, well,
it's because like she's struggling through dealing with this thing,
you know. And like the scene where she she opens

(39:16):
up the French cookbook and she's, oh, making all that
food like it's one of those things. I'm sure at
that point you're probably like, I don't want to I
don't want to eat done, Like no, I'm good, Like
I'm gonna throw this out. I'm not gonna eat tomorrow.

Speaker 1 (39:26):
My god. Yeah no, that was that was again. This
is a beautifully shot film. The cinematography is amazing. The
colors are really the director and the cinematographer because after
this movie, I've been watching all that behind the scenes
and the making of and all this stuff, and they're
saying they wanted like a retro feel, but like a
retro future. So you had a lot of like kind
of eighty poppy colors, but it kind of feels like

(39:49):
a like a kind of super like kind of a
future dystopian Hollywood. And the director and the cinematographer we're
talking about again that male gaze, wanting to make sure
that that people understood you know what that does to people. Cinematically,
it looks beautiful. The hallway scenes, the long shots, the

(40:09):
camera angles were really beautiful, really well done. A lot
of this was done without CGI effects, so like the
apartment they built that entire set, beautiful set, beautiful set.
A lot of the prosthetics, especially for the last act
of it, where Sue she takes the substance because after
you know, again we're in the spoilers now, but after

(40:30):
she nearly kills or kills Demi Moore's character because you know,
she tried to end this. Yeah, she starts falling apart
literally like right before like her big New Year's show,
and she goes back to the house, takes the last
of like the substance, which you're not supposed to take,
and then she morphs another I love the monstra Eliza Sue. Yeah,

(40:52):
the title that was introduced for like the third one
that pops out and then so all that, you know,
real prosthetics. That's crazy, super crazy. Apparently Margaret Quality had
really bad acne reaction to the to the prosthetics, and
so she had a whole year of recovery from like
from the acne and stuff.

Speaker 2 (41:10):
But the other thing of the thing that people will
do to make a movie, and like literally that's almost
like that's like the hammer hitting the nail on the head,
like a huge movie itself.

Speaker 1 (41:21):
But I think they did a great job. And like again,
they did so many cool camera effects. You know, the
scene where after Demi Moore tastes the substance and it
has like the colors that kind of zooming by and
like you kind of see like weird kind of lines
zooming by. They did that practically. They had like this
weird like these two big wheels, and they had lights
that were like each like fluorescent lights that are vertical,

(41:41):
and it's fun and the camera's in the middle of it.
And so you had such a great camera work in
this film. So it's visually beautiful. The story is a
great meaning and metaphor.

Speaker 2 (41:53):
And how like every shan of Dennis Quaid was almost
shot with like a fish eye land, you know, like
it's giving that like it makes it kind of puts
you in the position of the characters and how uncomfortable
it must be to be around someone right in that,
you know, like someone who's you know, like you know,
squeezing everything they can out of you, and someone that's
so you know, misogynistic and stuff like that, and you

(42:13):
know it's like the you're almost makes the viewer almost
being receiving the gaze that he's you know, imposing upon them,
which I thought was really cool, especially I mean the
scene with him eating the shrimp, it's just like, oh god, yeah.

Speaker 1 (42:25):
Like so the Dennis Quade's character's name is Harvey, which
again is no is no subtlety in in that, you know,
obviously pointing in referencing like a connection to Harvey Weinstein
and the abuse of women and people in the entertainment industry.
So he had this character doing the same thing, who
doesn't care about you know, what's old. He just wants
what's new, what's hot, what's fresh, and just being a
disgusting human being about it, but like feeling like he's

(42:47):
like the best and like everyone owes him everything. Fun
fact about Dennis Quaid, he was actually not cast as Harvey. Initially,
Raylely Yoda was gonna play that character, and so they
started filming. I forget when when they when they filmed this,
but they were filming and so three months into filming,
they didn't have Dennis Quaid come in, and so Dennis

(43:08):
Quaid came in to fill in for Rayleiota because he
Ray passed away. But so I can imagine Ray doing
a fantastic job as that character too. But Dennis Quaid,
he's fantastic being like this this this weasel, this slimy thug.

Speaker 2 (43:22):
The way he delivers that line when he in the
hallway to Marcot Cooley so smile like sends.

Speaker 1 (43:28):
It like a chill down, beautiful smile or shit or
should smile.

Speaker 2 (43:32):
Or whatever, Like the way the way he delivers that.
I was just like, I remember I was texting one
of my friends while I was watching it. I was
just like, I mean, the to me, More and Marcoret
Kuley are doing great, but like Dennis Quid's cook it
as well too, like the three because there's really it's
really just the three of them, like there are a
couple other speaking characters, which is like three three pros
really on the top of their game.

Speaker 1 (43:50):
And yeah, I'm I'm not surprised that. To me, More
won an award a Golden Globe for her performance. Again,
excuse me, I'm not sure if comedy or musical was
the best category. I really don't.

Speaker 2 (44:04):
It's kind of like the Bear.

Speaker 1 (44:05):
Yeah, I know, I know, don't don't get me started
out on the Bear, but like, yeah, like that could
easily be up for like just best actress. Yeah, just
best actress, and it.

Speaker 2 (44:14):
Wouldn't shock me come Oscar time if she's the one
that takes it home. Yeah, I really think that she's
made a good case for that. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (44:19):
The director is so good too. She also and I
should wrote it, I should have written it down. But
the director, she's French and she directed this movie called
The Revenge is another horror film which got great buzz,
critically acclaimed as well. So that's the movie that I
now want to watch because you know, she's a great,
great director, great job with this film, and I can't

(44:40):
wait to see what other movies is coming out.

Speaker 2 (44:42):
She's a very unique vision, you know because like the
whole concept behind this movie, it's not like a new idea,
like we've heard stories that talk about this, but I
think the execution of this is so unique and so
special and impactful that like, yeah, no, I definitely would
love to see some stuff from her that she's already done.
In in the future.

Speaker 1 (45:00):
Yeah, so I highly recommend this film highly. I highly
recommend The Substance. Again, it is coming back in theaters,
but if you are at home, it is streaming on
on Amazon Prime for renting or for owning that twenty
bucks you can own it. So highly recommend it.

Speaker 2 (45:17):
And you want to talk about a good theater experience,
I'm sure watching that in a crowded theater at I've
seen it before, that will be that would be an experience.

Speaker 1 (45:25):
The back sewing up scene after Margaret Quality's care Sue
is born and she's like suturing or you know, sewing up.
Oh that was like, oh my god, that's so medium,
so crazy, wild wild stuff great. Before we get to
our last movies that we're going to talk about really quick.
Thank you so much for watching us on The Help
on Hollywood. We come out every week every Monday. We

(45:46):
try to come out with another episode. We are here
on YouTube as you are clearly watching, So if you
are watching, please like, subscribe comment down below. If you
watch The Substance, let us know what you think about
this film. You can also listen to us on any
of the major podcas casting streaming services. We are on
iHeart radio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify. Please leave a great review

(46:06):
on Apple Podcasts if you if you can, because House
of Podcasts out. Also, it'll convince Kyle to come back
on the show. So we need this, we need this.
So the last films are we're going to talk about.
I guess these would be non spoilers. Yeah, these are
films I have not seen.

Speaker 2 (46:23):
And I would not hate to spoil them.

Speaker 1 (46:25):
No, No, so one is the Brutalist. Yes, Adrian Brodin.

Speaker 2 (46:29):
I was super excited. I got to see this the
other day and I made a very interesting decision. It's
a it's about three and a half hours with a
fifteen minute intermission that's built into the movie. And I
saw it. I saw nine o'clock showing of it. Okay,
so I didn't leave the theater until So I didn't
leave the theater until like almost one in the morning.

Speaker 1 (46:46):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (46:47):
But I mean, what a movie like The way that
it's been talked about is it's been phrased as this
is like this generation's American epic. Like if you want
to talk like, you know, like they're the Godfather. There
will be blood like those like just these long, expansive
like character dramas that you know, tell these grand ideas
about America and what it means to be in America.

(47:09):
I mean, this is a movie at its core about
the American dream and you know, the the the idea
of the American dream and the reality of the American dream.
And to do my best to you know, not talk
about specific stuff. I mean, Adrian Brody phenomenal one of that.
People have been saying it's his best performance since he
was in The Pianist, and I think I would agree.

(47:30):
I mean, I love Adrian Brody. I've seen him on
a lot of great stuff, but he is he's on
another level in this one. The guy Pierce was also fantastic.
I mean, he's he's uh, he plays this like rich uh,
this like super rich guy. That sort of fosters the
career of Adrian Brodie's character. I be Laslo tof. I believe,
as you say, his last names immigrant from a Jewish

(47:53):
immigrant from Hungary, and it really is just such an
interesting exploration into, you know, what the America dream and
that sort of experience was like for immigrants coming to
the country around that time post World War Two, and
particularly for Jewish immigrants coming post World War two. The
first half of this movie is like it's beautiful, like

(48:14):
the it's shot in VistaVision, Yeah, and it looks so cool.
I didn't get to see it in seventy millimeter. I
know that some places like the Coolidge are showing it
in seventy millimeters, and I've everyone that I've heard that's
seen it in that it says, go see it like that.
It apparently just looks the colors. I mean, even in
my experience from just seeing it on laser digital, like
the colors were popping off the screen. I mean, the
cinematography is beautiful. You know, it's a bit of a

(48:36):
slow burm, like you really feel you get to see
these really intimate moments and you get to really see
the vision that it takes and the you know, the
path that he goes out to get to where his
life takes him, and you're basically experiencing his entire life.
I think the movie spans I think like thirty years
of his life. It starts at nineteen forty nine and

(48:57):
ends in like the eighties. So you know, the first
half of the movie absolutely phenomenal, like like really had
me on the edge of my seat, Like when it
went into the intermission like it ends on such a
high note and you're just like, oh, I can't wait
for the rest of this. The second half didn't really
follow through the way I was hoping it would. But
at the end there's a this is in the spoiler.
There's like an epilogue, and that kind of wraps everything

(49:19):
up nicely, and the sentiment that it ends on really
makes sense given the whole movie. But it's definitely a
movie you're gonna want to see. I mean, the performances
are fantastic. I mean, Felicity Jones is great. I can't
remember the name of the he has his niece. It
was his sister's his sister's daughter that he's taken care of.
She does a very good job. Joe Alwyn is good,

(49:39):
and I can't I couldn't remember most of the other
people that were in the movie. But and the score too.
That's the other thing. I took a class in college
about like film score, so I'm always very, always very
attentive to how score, you know, compliments or you know,
sometimes contradicts what you're seeing. And this score did a
really good job of just like heightening the experience.

Speaker 1 (49:59):
I watched I think it's a variety. They had all
the directors, like the great directors of this year, you know,
sit down. They had the director of the substance, Ridley
Scott Didnivel nev On there, and they also had the
director of the Brutal This.

Speaker 2 (50:14):
Is Brady Corbe. I always thought it was Corbert, but
I believe it's Corbet.

Speaker 1 (50:17):
Yeah, Corbet. And they're talking about and I don't want
to say I don't think this is a spoiler, but
they said the opening scene, opening boat scene is very good.

Speaker 2 (50:27):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (50:27):
They they described it like again their directors, so they
kind of described like what their intention was. And so
I can't wait to see this because the way they
described it without giving away too much, but like like
a little disorientation followed up with some with immediate clarity,
kind of a moment.

Speaker 2 (50:44):
No, that's that's I you know, I haven't seen that,
but that is a great way to describe that. And
it's the and you know, to talk about the score again,
like the song that plays over that opening scene is
just so just like triumphant and it I think it
does a really good job of sort of portraying the
promise that you know, the people on the boat are
feeling coming to America and stuff like that, and you know,

(51:04):
the the the ideal of what they what they think
the American dream will be for them. It does a
really good job of sort of betraying that. I think.

Speaker 1 (51:12):
I think I had to watch this movie at home
because there's no way I can go out with with
a wife and baby, way I can go out and
watch a three and a half of hour movie with
an intermission. So but yeah, The Brutalist I'm high on
my list right now to watch. Another movie that's high
on my list to watch is a Real Pain with
with Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin. Yeah, I was like

(51:36):
to slowly say it because again, but Coley is is
always is already ingrained in my brain.

Speaker 2 (51:41):
No, that's that. That was fantastic. I saw that in
one of the smaller screening rooms at the Coolidge and
it's it's really fun. Like my biggest takeaway from that
is so Jesse Eisenberg, he wrote and directed. I think
it's his debut. I don't know about writing, but I
know it's at least his directorial debut. Him and Kieran Culkin.
It doesn't really feel like they're like, it just feels
like it's them, you know, like, have you seen Succession? No,

(52:04):
Well so he was on that, Yes, Succession fantastic show.
And it's almost like he's playing a version of his
character Roman Roy, but not as like I guess, not
as raunchy and not as pretentious because obviously the very
different people on different sides of you know, the class
spectrum and whatnot. But Kieran Culkin is just like at
his best, just being like that little like that pest

(52:25):
little brother. Yeah, because their cousins, they're not brothers, but
it's and it's sort of telling the story of them
going on this journey to Poland to visit the town
that their grandmother grew up in, and their grandmother had
just recently passed away, and part of her inheritance that
she gave them was money to go on a trip there.
And they take part in this they're they're they're both
Jewish and they're taking part in this this like Holocaust

(52:49):
history and like you know, the history of being Jewish
and Poland sort of tour and you know, them interacting
with the people on the tour, you know, the characters
that the the minor characters are really interesting, like their
backstories and how you know, family and religion relate to
their lives, and you know, even like history relate to them.
It's it's all very interesting, and just the dynamics between

(53:11):
the two of them, like you know, Kierenkulkin being this
just very jittery, like you know, he's always wired, and
Jesse Eisenberg being this more subdued and calm and like,
let's do everything neat and organized, and they're the way
that they sort of clash and their personalities clash. It's
just it's so fun to watch it play out.

Speaker 1 (53:27):
And the only thing I knew about this or the
actually have not even watched the trailer, but I got
the sense from a couple, like you know, brief seconds,
is that it's like a traveling trip. They're on a
journey somewhere. I don't know why, I don't know where,
but they're traveling together, and they're not exactly fans or
they they're not exactly excited for it. Is that right?

Speaker 2 (53:45):
Yeah? I mean it, well, they're they're excited to get together,
but like dealing with like you know, dealing with the
emotions that this that this trip brings up for them
is a lot, you know, and that the the premise
and this is an entirely spoiler because they talk about
it pretty early. But like, you know, they haven't seen
each other in a while, so they're getting back together
and you know, they're both it's an interesting exploration of
how both of them deal with grief because they're both

(54:06):
grieving very much, and you know they're not they're almost
not willing to admit it at first. Have you seen
the movie by my favorite director, Wes Anderson. Have you
seen the movie that Are Dealing Limited? No, it's a
very good movie. It's very similar to that. I kind
of jokingly compared it to that with some of my friends,
but it is. It's very similar. It's you know, these

(54:26):
these you know, the Dredealing Limited is a great movie.
It's Owen Wilson, Adrian Brodie, and Jason Schwartzman as brothers
dealing with the loss of their father and trying to
find their mother, and it's it's it's a very similar greet,
you know story talking about grief and family and you know,
a journey to do that, and you know there's there's
chaos and comedy and stuff like that. So no, a

(54:48):
real Pain is definitely worth checking out. My My only
problem that I had with it is it was kind
of similar to the to the Brutalist, where like it's
it's very character driven and like a times like it
feels like the plot kind of loose goes away and
it seems like they're more focused on just the characters,
which is fine, but you know, would just love for
it to tie up with a nice bow at the end,

(55:09):
but you know, not every movie's like that, and but
but no, it's it's if you want to see like
two really good actors just like giving their a game
at being characters, like this is a great movie for that.

Speaker 1 (55:20):
So the funny thing is, so I watched an interview.
I don't know who he was talking to, but Jesse
Aisenberg was talking about directing it, and so that's like, oh,
that's cool that he's also directing it. No, so Kieren Kieran, Kieren,
Kieren Kieren and Jesse we're both on a talk show.
And so Kieren was like, do you know how I
got the job? And they're like, oh no, how It's
like Jesse just reached out to me. He called me

(55:44):
and he said, hey, I haven't seen any of your work,
but I think you'd be good for this. This based
on us just knowing each other, and Karen's like, we've
only met twice, and just like in passing, He's like, yeah,
but in those two moments, I got the sense of
who you were. And so again I haven't seen in
any of your shows or your movies, but I think
you'd be a perfect for this role. And so that
was basically it. It was a great call on And

(56:06):
the funny thing too is Kieran was saying that that
he almost backed out of the film, and then Jesse
was quick to say yeah, two weeks before the movie started,
and he was like, yeah, but it's a good thing
I stayed because they ended up being a really good movie. Yeah.
That's funny because like again, like Jesse, like I think
if you've seen interviews with him or whatever, you know
he's a he's a not not peculiar, but he's a
unique person with who has like his heart on his sleeve.

(56:29):
And so it's just funny to have him like he
was gonna play Kiaren's role, but then he decided to.

Speaker 2 (56:34):
Switch it up. Oh gosh, I don't think he could
have done that.

Speaker 1 (56:37):
Yeah, but that's a good judgment. That's a really good judgment.
And so yeah, so it looks really fun. It's getting
really good buzz good reviews. Yeah, as you know, you're
just describing. So that's on my list of things to
watch too.

Speaker 2 (56:48):
It's it's it's definitely a very good fun watch. I mean,
there are moments where it can be very heavy, but
you know that's just the nature of you know, it's
just it's just a good story and you know, it's
it's it's a good laugh at times. If you're a
fan of those two actors, it will it will hit,
it will hit for you.

Speaker 1 (57:02):
Excellent. Well I'm excited, So go check out. If you've
watched The Brutalist or A Real Pain, do you know
why it's called Real Pain? Do they say at one
point do they say you're a real pain in my
butt or something?

Speaker 2 (57:14):
I think I actually think they do at some point, yeah,
but I can't remember.

Speaker 1 (57:19):
Okay, that's fair. Yeah, So if you are if you've
seen either film or any of the three The Substance,
The Brutalists or A Real Pain, let us know down
below in the comments what you think, What are your thoughts,
what are the movies that we haven't mentioned or seen
that we should also check out before Awards season really
ramps up. But Kyle, thank you so much for joining
us on the Hub on Hollywood. Hopefully I think you

(57:40):
may be back next week.

Speaker 2 (57:42):
Yeah, no, I'd be super excited to come back. Thank
you for having me. You know, I've been following you
guys on social media and stuff and are always catching
up on your takes and it's a it's an honor
to be here.

Speaker 1 (57:50):
Awesome, No, my honor, my pleasure. Smail a following follow
at Hub on Hollywood or TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and all
of that jazz, and as long as TikTok is still around,
we'll be there. But yeah, thanks so much for joining us.
We'll see you next week for the Hop on Hollywood.
I'm James and I'm kylem Bye